


Rumple's Happiest Place on Earth

by TheChippedGirl



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-25
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2018-04-11 05:11:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4422671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheChippedGirl/pseuds/TheChippedGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: A trip to Disney World</p><p>Deciding that they need a break from the recent Storybrooke mayhem, Rumple and Belle take a trip to Disney World (also known as the happiest place on earth). Along the way they meet some interesting characters, eat some oddly shaped ice cream, and witness the greatest fireworks display in history.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rumple's Happiest Place on Earth

**Author's Note:**

> This is my Rumbelle Christmas in July gift for boushh2187 on Tumblr! I hope you love it! Also, to anyone reading this, I haven't been to Disney World since I was 7 years old, that was over ten years ago, so I'm sorry if any of the details are a little shaky. I did a bunch of research just to make sure most of my info was ok but it might not all be 100% accurate :) Happy reading!

“It’s official. I love airplanes!” Belle said excitedly, bouncing up and down as Rumple led them through the Orlando airport. The trip to Florida had been a last minute situation, something Belle thought would be fun after she had discovered a website for a place called “Disney World” on those stupid computers that looked liked ugly boxes with glowing screens. She had told him about the place excitedly around a week after he had woken up in the back of the shop, showing him pictures of castles with smiling families in front of them and characters that looked oddly like some familiar faces back in Storybrooke. 

After the events of the past few months, and with the Charmings gone in search of the new family Dark One, Rumple had decided that a vacation was just what they needed to get their relationship started off again on the right foot. He was determined to make Belle as happy as possible, no matter how many screaming children he would be forced to endure at this “happiest place on Earth”.

Even after all this time, it still baffled him how this gorgeous woman wanted to be with him, especially after everything he’d done that pushed her away. She always came back to him. 

He loved her so much. 

What he didn’t love, though, was airplanes. They made him sick, and they were far less convenient than his preferred method of travel - magic. Of course, even without the Dark One inside of him Rumple could still use magic. He just simply no longer had a strong thirst for power. Regardless of these facts, it’s not like he could use magic outside of Storybrooke anyway, so he had to settle for first class flying. It wasn’t so bad when it was Belle next to him instead of Emma Swan. 

Belle, on the other hand, had spent the whole flight staring out of the window and pointing out different cloud formations. She had never been that high off the ground before, and she loved every second of it. Knowing that she was with Rumple made her content, and she was never nervous for one second. 

When they landed, Belle exited the aircraft a sadly, not wanting to leave the thing that had the power to carry her anywhere in the world. When they stepped into the airport however, her spirits perked up as she took in her completely new surroundings. 

And so, this is where they were, Belle bouncing up and down excitedly and Rumple trying to navigate their way through heavy crowds of Orlando travelers so they could locate their luggage. Belle stared at the small children she saw along the way, most of them wearing mouse ears or carrying balloons shaped the same way. She wondered why the children here fancied mice so much, but shook the thought away and instead focused on following Rumple through the impressively huge airport.

Two hours later saw Belle walking into the Polynesian Resort on the Disney grounds, following a very agitated Rumple. It was clear to her that he did not enjoy traveling at all. Both of them dragged rather large suitcases behind them on their way to check into the hotel. It was a relief when they had finally made it to their room.

“Here we are, Belle. Room 501.” Rumple said, sliding the keycard into the door and pushing it open for her to enter. 

When Belle stepped inside, she gasped. The room was a suite, complete with an enormous bed, a rather large sitting area with a flat-screen TV, a walk-out balcony that included a view of the small lake, and a gorgeous bathroom that had the biggest shower Belle had ever seen. 

“Rumple… It’s beautiful!” she said, spinning around to throw her arms around him excitedly. He smiled and returned the hug. 

“I’m glad you like it Belle, I wanted this vacation to be extra special for you and this room seemed to be fitting for our stay.” he said as she pulled away from him to go explore the room. 

Belle peered outside excitedly, wishing she could see more of the lake through the darkness of the night. She figured tomorrow morning when it was light outside, she would be able to get a better view. 

Rumple started to unpack his suitcase as Belle wandered around the room some more. Every so often he would sneak a glance over and watch her inspect something new. He smiled to himself as he hung up some of his dress shirts, loving how curious she was. It reminded him of a time when she was a maid, inspecting the things she dusted in his castle. Only this time she was his wife. He still couldn't believe it.

He heard her squeal from the bathroom and moments later she came running out with a bar of soap clutched in her hand. 

“Rumple, the soap has a mouse engraved on it! See, it says he’s “Mickey Mouse”! This must be why all the children at the airport had mouse themed items! Oh I can’t wait to learn more about him!” Belle said excitedly, bouncing back into the bathroom with the soap still held in her hand. 

Rumple chuckled to himself and continued unpacking until he heard Belle turn on the shower. His stomach growled and he figured it was high time they got something to eat for dinner. 

When Belle came out of the bathroom, twisting her soaking hair up into a clip, a feast was waiting for her in the living area. A grin grew on her face as she joined Rumple, who was sitting on the couch waiting for her. The rest of the night was spent laughing over plates of room service as they planned out the following day in the Disney World theme parks. 

*************************

At first, Rumple was not at all happy to be woken up at six in the morning. When he opened his eyes to see Belle’s excited blue ones staring back at him though, his mood greatly improved. Belle had made it perfectly clear the night before that she wanted to spend their first day visiting the Magic Kingdom, which opened at eight. However, because they were staying on the Disney grounds, they were allowed to enter the park at seven, a whole hour before it opened to the public. Belle obviously wanted to take advantage of the perk, and this was how they both found themselves strolling through the hotel grounds half an hour later, Rumple clutching a large cup of coffee and Belle clutching a similarly ginormous cup of tea. 

“Ok so I read that there are several castles in the Magic Kingdom, but they aren’t castles like we’re used to. The website said they were more of attractions than living spaces. And there are people who dress up as characters all throughout the park, you can get your picture taken with them and everything!” Belle told Rumple excitedly as they neared the area where the monorails were waiting to take vacationers to the theme parks. 

“Why would they build fake castles?” Rumple questioned, not understanding why people would waste so much effort and money to build castles that wouldn’t even be homes. 

Belle shrugged, grabbing onto a pole as they boarded the monorail going to the Magic Kingdom. “I guess people just like to look at castles. Not many people live in palaces in this realm.” 

Frowning, Rumple grabbed onto the same pole Belle was holding as the monorail jerked out of the station. They both listened to the automated voice coming from the speakers as it told them all about the Disney theme parks. Moments later, one of the castles they had just been talking about came into view from the monorail windows. Belle’s excitement increased tenfold, and Rumple watched her with an amused expression. He didn’t think anyone else going to the theme park today could possibly be as excited as his wife. 

When the monorail finally came to a stop, Belle practically pulled Rumple off of it, taking his hand and leading him towards the gates where the employees were waiting to scan their tickets. Her pace was so fast that Rumple was having trouble keeping up, his leg causing him minor pain because he could not use magic to heal it outside of Storybrooke. 

As if noticing his discomfort, Belle slowed down a little, shooting him an apologetic look as they approached the ticket stands. Several lines were already forming, and they joined the end of the shortest one, Belle standing on her tip-toes to see over the crowd in front of them. 

The next ten minutes were the longest ten minutes in Belle’s entire life as the people in front of her and Rumple were slowly admitted into the park. When it was their turn, she practically bounced up and down as the employees scanned the tickets and ushered them into the park.

Belle squealed, grabbing Rumple’s hand again as they strolled through the entrance. Immediately she saw several theme park workers dressed up as famous characters that she recognized from books that she had read. Belle also knew from doing research on the Disney website that there would be people dressed up as some of the people from back in Storybrooke, and there could quite possibly be another Belle or two walking around as well. She hoped that if she ran into herself (or rather a girl dressed up as herself) that she would be able to take a picture with her.

Rumple looked down at the park map that the man who scanned their tickets had given them. He wasn’t sure what it was that Belle wanted to do first, but he had a feeling that she wanted to see the huge castle that was literally the heart of the Magic Kingdom.

“Rumple look.” Belle said, pointing ahead of them. As if she had read his mind, Rumple looked up to find the castle not far away from them. His gaze shifted to Belle as her face lit up with excitement. 

“Come on, we have to go take a picture in front of it!” she said, knowing that Rumple had brought his newly acquired cell phone with him to the park. 

In Rumple’s opinion, it was way too early to be taking pictures. But it was what Belle wanted, so he obliged. They strolled down Disney’s Main Street and up to the castle, Belle staring in awe at the beauty and size of it. She knew after her conversation with Rumple that it wasn’t possible for anyone to live here year-round, but she wanted to. It made her miss the dark castle. It made her miss home.   
As they approached the base of the castle, Rumple took out his phone and switched it onto camera mode. While he was doing this, Belle watched fascinated as two teenagers, a boy and a girl, turned to take a photo in front of the castle. The girl had a large stick that she had placed her phone in so she could get the entire castle in her photo. Belle raised one eyebrow, wondering what that device was called. Before she could ask the young couple about it though, a theme park worker approached the two, saying that “selfie sticks” were banned in Disney World. He held out his hand and the girl placed the so-called selfie stick in his palm while shooting him an angry glare. 

Belle turned back to Rumple. 

“How are we supposed to take our own picture?” she asked. 

“I believe people call it a selfie. You use the camera on the inside screen of the phone to take your picture.” he replied, holding the phone up to test the camera. 

She sidled next to him, staring intently at the phone. The technology in this world really was amazing. They both put on their best smile, and Rumple snapped the picture. 

Belle decided then and there that she loved selfies, and that meant that the rest of the day would be full of them. 

 

*************************

The rest of the morning passed rather wonderfully in Rumple’s opinion. Several hours were spent wandering around the different parts of the Magic Kingdom. Rumple’s favorite location had been the place called Tomorrowland. He loved seeing the futuristic architecture, and looking at all of the bright flashing lights and whirring machines. Belle’s favorite location was New Fantasyland. There, another towering castle stood, but this one was hers. A park worker had told them that this was a newer attraction based off of the Disney movie called Beauty and the Beast. 

Belle was the star of that movie, and apparently Rumple also had a starring role as the Beast that Belle turned back into a man. She had spend a good thirty minutes sitting in the middle of her little town just staring at the castle, wishing that she could go inside. Unfortunately, the inside of the castle was a fancy restaurant that you needed a reservation to get into. There were no reservations available until spring of next year. Rumple had checked. 

As Rumple and Belle were leaving New Fantasyland to head back to the hotel for a short break from the chaos that was Disneyland, they were suddenly stopped by a massive figure in a red shirt. 

“Belle!” he boomed out in a deep yell, sweeping her up in a huge hug. 

Rumple’s eyes narrowed as he watched the man rejoice over seeing his wife. 

Belle laughed a little, but seemed genuinely uncomfortable with the situation. “I’m sorry, do I know you?” she asked politely as the large man set her back down. 

“It’s me, Gaston!” he said, and Rumple’s angry look got a whole lot scarier as Belle’s eyes went wide. This certainly wasn’t the Gaston from her past, but he did seem cocky and arrogant like her would-have-been fiancé. 

“Ummm…” Belle said, taking a hesitant step back towards Rumple, who wrapped an arm around her waist protectively. 

The man claiming to be Gaston noticed her cautionary movements and Rumple’s rage, and suddenly he broke character. 

He lowered his voice considerably and spoke to them quickly, “I’m sorry if I upset you guys, I just thought it would be funny. You do look a lot like the woman who plays Belle here.”

Rumple’s grip on Belle loosened a bit and Belle let out a breathless laugh. 

“It’s quite all right.” she said, smiling at him warmly. “You just reminded us of someone from our past is all.” 

“Well it seems as if he was not a cool dude. Sorry again.” the man said with a small smile of his own. With that, he drew his shoulders back up and walked away, heading towards a group of teenaged girls who were calling to him, asking for a picture. 

Rumple and Belle looked at each other for a moment and then broke into fits of laughter. It wasn’t even noon yet and the day had already been full of wonderful adventures. 

*************************

After a monorail ride back to the hotel, a quick bite of lunch and an afternoon nap for Rumple, the two finally made it back to the Magic Kingdom. It was nearing dinner time, and Belle wanted to eat inside the theme park before exploring some more and then watching the famous Disney World fireworks. 

Heading back into Fantasyland, Belle and Rumple found a small burger joint where they ate their dinner - cheeseburgers and sodas - before heading off to go onto some of the rides that they had spotted before. Rumple was adamant about going on Space Mountain, the indoor roller coaster they had found in Tomorrowland, while Belle wished to go on the classic “It’s a Small World” ride. 

Both of them screamed their heads off on Space Mountain as they hurtled through the blackness and fake stars. Belle greatly enjoyed seeing the different cultures and countries represented in the Small World ride, wishing that she could some day visit all of the places she had seen along the boat ride. Rumple was annoyed with the song that played. It was like torture. 

As they stepped off of the Small World ride and headed back into the park, they both scanned the surrounding attractions to see if there was anything they would like to do before the fireworks show. Belle’s eyes landed on the Peter Pan ride, and she let out a small noise of disbelief as she nudged Rumple and pointed towards it. Rumple was not at all happy when he saw what Belle was pointing at. 

Standing there, in front of the ride, was Peter Pan himself. He was taking photos with the children and trying to do gymnastic tricks to entertain people. It was obvious that this young man was not his father, but it still made him uneasy.

“I do not want to go on that ride.” he growled. 

Belle smiled a little and took his hand. “No one said that you have to.” 

He continued to glare at the man playing Peter until they had walked so far in the opposite direction that he couldn’t even see the ride or the actor any more. 

“Can we get ice cream before the fireworks, Rumple? I saw some shaped like Mickey Mouse’s ears and I thought it looked yummy.” Belle said, looking at him hopefully. 

“Of course.” Rumple replied, looking around to try and find an ice cream place. 

“You two seem a bit lost. Do you need any help?” a voice asked from behind them. Belle and Rumple both turned to see… Well… Belle. 

“Oh my god.” Belle said, eyes going wide, taking in her spot-on outfit and perfectly positioned hair. 

“What?” the actress asked, looking a bit confused. 

Belle caught herself before she said anything. “Nothing it’s just that… You’re my favorite princess.” 

The actor playing Belle did her best blushing impression and said a cheerful thank you. She accepted Belle’s request to take a selfie with her, and even signed Belle’s notebook that she had been carrying in her purse. The two of them had just struck up a lengthy conversation about books when Rumple cleared his throat. They both turned to look at him with the same curious stare, the only difference in their gaze was that the actress had large brown eyes instead of Belle’s blue ones. 

“It’s starting to get dark and it’s nearly time for the fireworks. Could you possibly point us in the direction of a place where we could get the rodent shaped ice cream bars?” he asked the actress. 

She giggled and pointed back towards Main Street. “There are a lot of carts over there selling the ice cream bars. I recommend that you find a nice bench near the castle to watch the fireworks from. The closer you are, the better the view. Have a nice evening! It was wonderful to meet you both!” she said cheerfully before turning and walking away. 

The real Belle turned to look at Rumple, raising an eyebrow. “Rodent shaped ice cream bars?” she asked, and he gave her a sly grin. 

“Come along dearie.” he said, extending his arm. She took it, and he led her back towards main street. 

*************************

Half an hour later, Belle and Rumple were sitting on a bench liking their ice cream bars waiting for the fireworks. 

“I love chocolate.” Belle sighed happily, scooting closer to Rumple and taking another bite of her ice cream. 

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, Belle. Was it everything you’d hoped?” he asked with a slight flourish of his hand that wasn’t holding ice cream. 

She giggled a little and nodded her head, looking back at the castle which was now illuminated with multi-colored lights. 

Suddenly, music began to play from the speakers positioned outside all around the park. People started to talk excitedly as the castle’s lights dimmed considerably. A small spotlight shone on a girl dressed up as Tinker Bell as she flew across the castle suspended on a wire. She waved her wand around a few times before everything went black. 

Moments later, the first firework appeared in the sky, a single speck of light making an arch over the top of the castle, and curving sideways. The fireworks had officially begun. 

Rumple and Belle marvelled at the perfectly timed music, voiceovers from famous Disney films, and firework blasts. 

Not far into the show, music from Beauty and the Beast started to blare over the sound system as tons of bright flashing fireworks shot up into the sky. Belle couldn’t help but be astounded at the display in front of her. She wished that she could see these magnificent fireworks every night, but she doubted that anyone in Storybrooke was capable of putting on a show as large as this one.

Belle leaned her head on Rumple’s shoulder as another huge firework burst overhead. She looked up at Rumple to see his face illuminated in the light, and he looked down at her with a smile on his face. Her blue eyes lit up with each firework, and the joy reflected in them made Rumple’s (newly repurposed) heart jump a bit. 

At first, Rumple hadn’t wanted to come to Disney World. He thought it would be too hot, too crowded, and worst of all, full of screaming kids and angry parents. But sitting here with Belle, watching the fireworks burst over the castle, he finally understood why it was called the happiest place on earth.


End file.
